


Witching Hour

by ana_kl



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Auston is a real witch, Fluff, Insecurity, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Wicca
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:47:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26656108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ana_kl/pseuds/ana_kl
Summary: Auston grew up in America. He knows better than to be open about his spiritual beliefs.
Relationships: Frederik Andersen/Auston Matthews
Comments: 7
Kudos: 50





	Witching Hour

Auston's grateful every day that his parents have always supported him in everything he does. When he played baseball as a kid, his dad was always there to take him to practice and when hockey became the focus of his life, when it became obvious that he was going somewhere with it, his mom moves all the way to Switzerland with him so that he could play professionally. They make it clear from day one that they love him, and it's the same with his sisters. So it's not a surprise that they're supportive of his spiritual beliefs too, however unconventional. 

Auston discovers paganism, witchcraft and Wicca when he's about sixteen. Maybe it's unusual for a hockey player, but he's always liked reading and he comes across the new ideas in one of his books. There're a lot of things he has to learn -- still has to learn -- but something about the emphasis on nature, the symbols, the values, just make sense to him. It brings him peace and consciousness in a way that hockey never could and keeps him grounded. He learns about what the phases of the moon mean, about planetary alignment, herbs and spells. 

When he buys his first house in Toronto, he adopts a dog and also a black cat. He paints some rooms a light grey, others black and others a light, soft green, because he wants to. He fills the spaces with antiques that make the place cozy, pet-friendly plants, crystals, candles, incense, salts and books. The backyard is big enough for him to plant a garden over spring and as fall sets in, he picks the roses, herbs, lavender and lilacs from his garden and hangs them on the wooden beams of his kitchen ceiling so that they can dry and be used later on for spells and ceremonies. He likes making soap too and although there's nothing really spiritual about that, it relaxes him and he likes mixing in dried flower petals. 

He has one room just for divination and is pleased with how the pentacle and salt circle he drew on the floor turned out. The day he moves in, he casts a few spells for protection and purification and because why not, he casts one to attract love, too. It's more for fun and in all honesty, he's not too sure to what extent he believes in the more supernatural aspects of his faith, but the chants and rituals feel like meditation to him and they're a welcome alternative to the loudness and physicality of hockey. He even has space for an altar, which he covers with candles, a wreath of dried flowers that he made himself, crystals and a pentacle. He also has a special interest in Norse mythology and magick, so he makes room for these, too. 

His home feels like home and he even joins a coven in the city. It's one of the rare places in Toronto to which he can freely go without just being #34 on the Leafs. Auston's happy because he has hockey, but he also has a space in which hockey doesn't have to be the focus. His family comes to visit him pretty often, one of the reasons why he wanted a house instead of an apartment like most of the other guys his age, and although his choice of decor is very different from theirs, they accept it as just another Auston thing. 

But just because his family accepts him, it doesn't mean that the rest of the world will, and Auston's long since learned to keep it to himself that he's a witch. Growing up in America, he knows all too well how easy it is to be rejected for believing in something that isn't mainstream. He makes the mistake of sharing what he does with some of his friends while he's in school; in short, they're no longer friends and Auston was glad when hockey started demanding more of his time and he switched to homeschooling that year. Most people confuse his beliefs with Satanism -- although he's pretty sure that they're misunderstood the way that he is, too -- then, they panic. People think that he sacrifices animals, drinks blood, and generally resents humanity. Others think he's crazy, that he's in a cult, has no "values" or, somewhat entertainingly, is too hardcore of a Harry Potter fan to distinguish between fiction and reality. Auston's a witch: he's none of these things (although he does like Harry Potter), but he grows tired of trying to explain himself every time and when more and more people react really badly, he becomes afraid of telling anyone at all. It hurts when people tell him that his parents failed to raise him well and it's scary when people tell him he should die because his beliefs somehow make him evil. Really, Auston just likes herbalism, thinks that women and nature should be treated with respect, and yeah, he has some spiritual beliefs that are a bit outside the norm, but he really doesn't understand how any of this makes him a bad person. 

He doesn't openly discuss his beliefs; he really doesn't discuss them at all when he gets drafted, and that makes it even more important to him that he has a community of likeminded people, who celebrate the sabbats and get that they're "alternative" but that it's ok. He covers up the tattoos he has that he knows people will think are demonic and he definitely doesn't say anything to anyone in hockey. As much as he's passionate about the sport, it's also one of the least open-minded communities he's ever been a part of. It's bad enough that he's attracted to other men; if anyone found out that he's also a witch, he's willing to bet that he'd either have his contract rescinded or would feel so uncomfortable that he'd just quit pro hockey of his own accord. There doesn't seem to be a place for who he truly is in the sport and he's reminded of it every time assumptions are made that he wants to date a model, or there's a country song between game periods, or a guy in the league tells the press that he's where he is because of God. Auston doesn't have a problem with any of it, except maybe the gossip about his relationships, but it's not promising that he'll find a place to fit in. 

Auston doesn't tell his friends on the team that he's a witch, not even Freddie, whom he ends up telling that he's gay one night, when it's just the two of them in their shared hotel room. Freddie just hugs him and thanks him for telling him; Auston thinks then that maybe, his best friend wouldn't mind so much that he's a witch, either. Auston feels like Denmark's a lot more open that America in a lot of ways, so maybe Freddie really won't think there's anything wrong with him being a witch. But he also worries that even if Freddie doesn't judge him on a moral level, he might think that he's immature and is living in some kind of fantasy world. Maybe it really is a bit over the top that a grown man should believe in salt circles and goddesses. And maybe he cares more about what Freddie thinks than anyone else because he kind of has a crush on him. So Auston never brings it up and is usually really careful about keeping it a secret. 

Until he isn't. 

When Auston invites Freddie to wait out the quarantine with him, it really should've crossed his mind to rearrange his house, shove all the books and decorations maybe even some of the herbs and spices, in one room and close the room off. He removes all of the more obvious things, but he isn't as thorough as he thinks because he's really only thinking about Freddie, how he doesn't want him to be lonely and how excited he is that Freddie accepts his invitation to stay over. He doesn't count on finding Freddie standing in front of his largest book shelf, looking through one of his (many) books on tarot cards. 

"This is really cool, Aus. I didn't know you were into this," Freddie says, turning the pages and not noticing how Auston's frozen in place until he looks up. 

Auston figures his panic must show, because Freddie's quickly closing and replacing the book, stepping away from the bookshelf and taking a couple tentative steps towards Auston. 

"Sorry," he says quickly. "I shouldn't have been going through your books. Just, if you like that kind of stuff, it's ok with me," Freddie continues gently. 

Auston feels like he's going to cry or pass out and he also can't quite believe what he's hearing. Freddie's ok with this. Ok with him. And maybe he should've known: it's Freddie, after all. Freddie, who's also ok with Auston being gay, who Auston can tell pretty much anything, but still. It's the first time that anyone outside his family isn't reacting like they think he's a freak. But it's more than just liking witchcraft for Auston and he doesn't know if Freddie's going to be so accepting once he understands exactly how much it means to Auston. Still, it's Freddie and Auston wants to let him in. He just hopes he's not wrong, then takes a breath and tells Freddie that he's a witch. He then launches into a rushed, lengthy description about what it all means and he's not even sure if he's making any sense. He's a little out of breath when he finishes and he's shaking a little. Then, Freddie kisses his cheek and rests a hand on his lower back, telling him that he wants to know more if Auston wants to talk about it. 

Auston doesn't see anything but genuine interest in how Freddie's looking at him and he can't help throwing his arms around him. Freddie just holds him and rubs his back, like he knows that Auston's been holding it in for a long time, waiting for someone he could trust, without Auston having to say a word. 

So they spend the first night of quarantine on Auston's couch, talking about witchcraft. Auston makes tea and lights some candles and incense. Freddie tells him it smells nice. He's a little shy the next day when he sets up his divination room and redraws the salt circle, but he wants to share this with Freddie. Freddie's fascinated by the books and rune sets that Auston has; he can actually kind of read some of the Old Norse poems in Auston's books because some of the language has passed on to modern Danish. He lets Auston give him a tarot reading, even willingly participates in one of Auston's rituals just as summer cools into fall. They're still Auston and Freddie, who compete with Marns in Fortnite and Call of Duty, do what they can with Auston's home gym and try to make backyard hockey as close as they can to practice on the ice, but it feels like they're learning about each other all over again, too. Freddie's on a mission to read his way through Auston's books, because a lot of them are on Wicca and magick, and he understands that it means a lot to Auston. 

Every night, they sit together then after a few weeks, they cuddle as Auston's dog sleeps at their feet and his cat climbs over the back of the couch or over them. They're usually both reading, but Freddie runs his fingers through Auston's hair and Auston leans against his shoulder. Auston kisses Freddie's cheek every night before they go to bed and sometimes they hold hands just because. It should be pretty clear that Freddie likes him back, but Auston's always felt a little insecure and he tries not to think about it as a possibility until Freddie outright tells him. 

Auston's blushing a lot, but he can't stop smiling and neither can Freddie. 

"Are you sure it's ok that I... that I'm..." Auston starts, still feeling self-conscious. 

"That you're a witch?" Freddie smiles and Auston nods. "Of course it is," he says, pulling Auston a little closer. "You're just... You're you, Aus. I love everything about you." 

Auston surprises himself a little when he initiates their first kiss, but it soon becomes something they're both contributing too because Freddie's kissing him back as deeply. He doesn't have to hide anymore, although he isn't ready for anyone else to know just yet. If and when he is, he now knows that he's going to have Freddie by his side whether or not telling other people goes well and that's really all he needs. 

Maybe love spells do work, after all.   
  


Maybe love in itself is magic.


End file.
